Jamshedpur: Siwan�s controversial RJD leader and former MP Mohammad Shahabuddin was on Monday acquitted in the 28 year-old Jugsalai triple murder case. He was the prime accused in the case.
The court of additional district and sessions judge (IV) Ajit Kumar Singh acquitted Shahabuddin, presently lodged in Tihar Central Jail in Delhi, by conducting his trial through video-conferencing today.
Anand Rao, Janardhan Choubey and Pradeep Mishra were gunned down by a gang of armed criminals near the Tata Steel power house gate in Jugsalai in the evening of February 2, 1989.
Rao was a criminal-turned railway contractor and Choubey was his body-guard. Pradeep Mishra was the then Youth Congress president of Jamshedpur.
In this connection, Jugsalai police had registered a case on the complaint made by Bramheswar Pathak, a police constable and body-guard of Mishra against unidentified assailants, but following an investigation by the police it was established that there were eight assailants, including Shahabuddin, then only 23-year-old, responsible for the triple murder.
Other seven accused were Rama Singh, Kallu Singh, Paras Singh, Birendra Singh, Saheb Singh, Dasrath Singh and Sushil Singh. All except Shahabuddin were acquitted by the sessions court earlier in lack of adequate evidence as well as the prosecution witness in the case.
Shahabuddin�s advocate said the court had conducted trial through video conferencing on April 7, when the accused who is lodged in Tihar Central Jail, had also given his statement under CrPC Section 313 in connection with the case.
“The court of additional district judge acquitted Shahabuddin by conducting video-conferencing at about 8.15 am today,” said the advocate.
The defence counsel said there were in all nine prosecution witnesses, including Bramheswar Pathak and Pradeep Mishra’s younger brother Paramand Mishra, but most of the witnesses had turned hostile and there was no substantial evidence against the lone accused.
The Siwan don had earlier attended the court in connection with the triple murder case was in July 2005. After few months of his appearance in the Jamshedpur civil court, he was arrested for being allegedly involved in murder in Siwan district and was put in prison. He was released on bail from the Siwan Jail on September 10.